No. two journeys are the same but while picking your strategy, pick the one closest to yours.
WHEN TO START
I would recommend that start early during your graduation time and that you may give yourself a year of dedicated preparation time. The ability to take risk decreases as the years pass by.
Service preference: Far too many people are confused about their service preferences. I would encourage that everyone begins with the exercise of crystallizing what their top 5 service preferences are. Each service has its own glory and setbacks. Hence, it becomes important to see one’s suitability and interest.
Time management: This is the most crucial part of the preparation. Time is your most precious resource, value it more than any other virtue or asset. Here are some tips:
Always keep some reading material handy on you.
Reorientation of goals: Write down in front of you what is that you want for yourself foremost. Far too many times if you are a hardworking person, you will tend to find it difficult to maintain balance. You would periodically need to remind yourself that proving your worth to yourself is the foremost and that it is alright to forego smaller victories for a bigger cause One has to be mentally prepared to face resistance if people discover you’re working towards additional higher pursuits. You may or may not find an encouraging atmosphere, don’t let it get to you. If you encounter bad days, there will also be good days to make the most of that time.
PRELIMS
The frame of mind on the day of the exam: This is going to be the penultimate factor determining where you land on the final list as well as whether you crack through. So it becomes important that no matter what exam baggage, existential crisis, cold feet, etc you have, you let your history be your history and put your best foot forward.
Revision of the test series: This is the game-changer. Solve around 75-100 tests and revise all of them. It will help you in preparing for both types of questions which will be theoretical as well as analytical.
Sources for Prelims
History Both Old and New NCERTS from 6th-12th + Spectrum for Modern India
Culture Spectrum.
Science and Technology Read the static 6th-10th NCERT only once + the Hindu
Environment Shankar, Newspaper, Current Affairs monthlies, NCERT
Current Affairs The Hindu, PIB, Yojana (past 2 years)
Geography NCERT class 6-11th old; NCERT class 11th and 12th new, GC Leong, studied Map out of general interest
Economics Ramesh Singh read once for the general overview; Budget; Eco Survey; NCERT for macroeconomics and newspaper + CA monthlies
Polity Lakshmikant and Current Affairs
MAINS
Unlike Prelims where Revision and precise recollection becomes most important, in Mains approach will be to FINISH the syllabus.It's crucial therefore to have a wide understanding of each topic
GS I - already discussed in previous blogs
GS II - already discussed in previous blogs. Along with that follow below :
2 ARC + critical analysis of various Bills and Acts Additionally revised past 2 year’s Yojana.
GS III
Disaster Management – visit government websites and read Sendai Framework. Supplemented with class notes
Security – Pick any publication which concisely dealt with a broad overview +supplemented with current affairs plus class notes
Science and tech- Same source as prelims
Economics and Agriculture – Budget, Economic Survey, NITI ayog 3 year action plan
GS-IV Ethics - Lexicon + class notes + ARC + test series feedback.
Test Series for Mains: This turned out to be the deciding factor. Instead of focussing on a million sources, subscribe only to 12 tests and solved them all before the exam. first, focus on finishing paper within time and then moved to build on the content. Take each comment received on the answer sheets constructively and it helps you in building a better approach and structure subsequently. Towards the end of your final exam, based on these tests, you will be broadly able to predict marks in each of the papers with a +/-5 aberration.
Essay: it is advisable to practice essays beforehand. And also to read up a few essays by previous toppers and get a hang of what is the expected style of writing. Additionally, narrow down on some predictable topics based on experience and made a broad mental framework as to how to approach these topics. The catch with writing in the examination hall as opposed to creative or academic writing at leisure is that the exam happens within a time constraint. Keep this in mind, but at the same time keep your essay fresh and not boring. Additionally, keep your essay simple, optimistic and balanced with a proper analysis touching as many sectors and segments as possible.
Style of study for Prelims vs. Mains: Integrating prelims and Mains study will go a long way in making the preparation holistic. remember cramming various details during the prelims like government schemes and their specifics, environmental facts, cultural jargon, etc, However, it is during the Mains that the importance of taking a bird’s-eye view of the entire syllabus. Using the interesting facts to substantiate answers during the Mains plays a huge part in fetching marks an edge. Likewise, having a conceptual clarity of the concepts also plays a large role in narrowing down to the right options during Prelims and eases the sail through during Mains.
A quote of Michael Phelps during my preparation kept me going through the challenging times which is “It is what you do in the dark which puts you in the light”
Please continue being honest with your preparation and rest will all fall in place when the time is right. I wish you all the very best!
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